A Visit to Hannibal

Ran up to Hannibal on Sunday to take some photos for the division. The weather was not ideal — cloudy and rainy at times, then punishingly hot and humid at others — but there seemed to be pretty good crowds of people strolling up and down the sidewalks and visiting downtown merchants.

Trekked up to the top of Cardiff Hill — just a tip, don’t do that right after lunch — and took some photos of the river, then walked to the Hannibal Convention and Visitors Bureau’s tourist information center and chatted with a very nice woman named Virginia who offered some good information about getting to the specific spots I wanted to see.

I was glad to see so many people in the downtown area, and it was nice to just mill around at my own pace. I’ve kind of always taken Hannibal for granted, having grown up near there, and never really thought of it as a “destination.” But honestly, there’s a lot to see and do in Mark Twain’s hometown — take a cave tour, ride a riverboat, shop, eat, tour the city on a trolley, check out Twain’s Boyhood Home and Museum — and I think you’ll find it’s worth the trip.